When my sister and I were growing up, (I’m a twin btw if you’re new around here), we each had our favorite ornaments. When it came time to decorate the tree — we would separate the ornaments so we knew which ones each of us could put up on the tree. Yep — we were those people. And it was weirdly very important to us …

Fast forward a few years and we’re moving out of our parents’ house, and Mom gave us some ornaments. Wanna know what happened?

In the best and most sisterly loving way we could, as adults, we fought over those ornaments — with our husbands looking on in surprise…

But you know what?? We figured it out — and here’s the reason WHY we fought so hard for those ornaments…

They are treasures.

They remind us of precious moments from the past — of sweet memories — of Christmases where we unwrapped that one special ornament or went with Mom to North Pole City to find the perfect ornament for the tree. Each ornament is full of memories — and that’s why we wanted them.

And that wouldn’t have been possible if our mom hadn’t taken excellent care of these ornaments. We wouldn’t have been able to fight over broken ornaments, over those ornaments that had the unfortunate incident with my dog’s tail in 2011… ‍♀️

So in this blog, I’m sharing exactly how to take care of your handmade heirloom ornaments — and you know I’m all about making things last forever — so they’ll be so special and meaningful that your kids can fight over them when they’re all grown up.

BE CAREFUL WHO HOLDS THEM

I know this seems like a silly one — I have 3 little kids — but truly? One of the easiest ways to keep your heirloom ornaments lasting forever is be careful who holds them and puts them on the tree.

Your ornament is made of a hard ceramic, painted, and varnished with a hard gloss finish. It’s made to endure some dropping (I know because it’s happened myself when I’m putting ornaments up on the tree) — BUT a short conversation about how it’s special and we have to use tender loving care when handling the ornaments usually keeps little hands from yanking on them — also here’s a good reminder to keep the tails away. Speaking from a personal holiday ornament explosion experience…

BUNDLE ORNAMENTS WITH LOVE

This is another one you may be like “WELL DUH!” BUT — I know many people who just toss all their ornaments in a box. I’d recommend saving your keepsake box and wrapping it in leftover tissue from Christmas (and talk about sustainability!) — not only does it add padding around the ornament, but it keeps your ornament safe from ALL THE OTHER HOLIDAY ORNAMENTS IN YOUR ORNAMENT BOX!

You know the ones — those stars with the pointy ends…

… or the glass farmhouse that broke but you can’t throw it away because it was your son’s 1 year old ornament (maybe that hits too close to home… just me?!)…

Whatever it is and wherever you store it — wrap it carefully.

YOU DO YOU

Here’s the deal — I can tell you to take care of these ornaments until you’re annoyed as heck with me …

but at the end of the day — once you make the decision to take care of your ornaments carefully, you know they’ll last forever.

I mean, if those ornaments from 50 years ago are still on your mom’s tree? Imagine what these’ll look like on your grandkids’ trees … it gives me all the feels just thinking about it!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

Each ornament is handmade — totally one-of-a-kind, totally unique. And each one is made from start to finish with *you* in mind…

And the beauty of that is that your ornament is perfect for you.

Best make sure it lasts a lifetime and more.

These ornaments are meant to be on the trees of your grandchildren and beyond, and if you take care of them, they will be (and it’ll be the one your kids fight over when they move out!).

Do you have a favorite ornament story? I’d love to hear! Tell me in the comments!

PS: I heard this collection wrote a book called “Decorating for Christmas,” it’s getting turned into a movie and Nancy Meyers is directing.

And if you’re here for tradition and heirlooms you can pass down to your kiddos, get on the waitlist here!